1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to telecommunications networks and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing transmission for voice and data traffic over a data network, including the signaling, routing and manipulation of such traffic.
2. Related Art
The present invention relates to telecommunications, and in particular to voice and data communication operating over a data network. The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a collection of different telephone networks owned by different companies which have for many years provided telephone communication between users of the network. Different parts of the PSTN network use different transmission media and compression techniques.
Most long distance calls are digitally coded and transmitted along a transmission line such as a T1 line or fiber optic cable, using circuit switching technology to transmit the calls. Such calls are time division multiplexed (TDM) into separate channels, which allow many calls to pass over the lines without interacting. The channels are directed independently through multiple circuit switches from an originating switch to a destination switch. Using conventional circuit switched communications, a channel on each of the T1 lines along which a call is transmitted is dedicated for the duration of the call, whether or not any information is actually being transmitted over the channel. The set of channels being used by the call is referred to as a “circuit.”
Telecommunications networks were originally designed to connect one device, such as a telephone, to another device, such as a telephone, using switching services. As previously mentioned, circuit-switched networks provide a dedicated, fixed amount of capacity (a “circuit”) between the two devices for the entire duration of a transmission session. Originally, this was accomplished manually. A human operator would physically patch a wire between two sockets to form a direct connection from the calling party to the called party. More recently, a circuit is set up between an originating switch and a destination switch using a process known as signaling.
Signaling sets up, monitors, and releases connections in a circuit-switched system. Various signaling methods have been devised. Telephone systems formerly used in-band signaling to set up and tear down calls. Signals of an in-band signaling system are passed through the same channels as the information being transmitted. Early electromechanical switches used analog or multi-frequency (MF) in-band signaling. Thereafter, conventional residential telephones used in-band dual-tone multiple frequency (DTMF) signaling to connect to an end office switch. Here, the same wires (and frequencies on the wires) were used to dial a number (using pulses or tones), as are used to transmit voice information. However, in-band signaling permitted unscrupulous callers to use a device such as a whistle to mimic signaling sounds to commit fraud (e.g., to prematurely discontinue billing by an interexchange carrier (IXC), also known as a long distance telephone company).
More recently, to prevent such fraud, out-of-band signaling systems were introduced. Out-of-band signaling uses a signaling network that is separate from the circuit switched network used for carrying the actual call information. For example, integrated services digital network (ISDN) uses a separate channel, a data (D) channel, to pass signaling information out-of-band. Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS) is another network architecture for out-of-band signaling. A popular version of CCIS signaling is Signaling System 7 (SS7). SS7 is an internationally recognized system optimized for use in digital telecommunications networks.
SS7 out-of-band signaling provided additional benefits beyond fraud prevention. For example, out-of-band signaling eased quick adoption of advanced features (e.g., caller id) by permitting modifications to the separate signaling network. In addition, the SS7 network enabled long distance “Equal Access” (i.e., 1+ dialing for access to any long distance carrier) as required under the terms of the modified final judgment (MFJ) requiring divestiture of the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) from their parent company, AT&T.
An SS7 network is a packet-switched signaling network formed from a variety of components, including Service Switching Points (SSPs), Signaling Transfer Points (STPs) and Service Control Points (SCPs). An SSP is a telephone switch which is directly connected to an SS7 network. All calls must originate in or be routed through an SSP. Calls are passed through connections between SSPs. An SCP is a special application computer which maintains information in a database required by users of the network. SCP databases may include, for example, a credit card database for verifying charge information or an “800” database for processing number translations for toll-free calls. STPs pass or route signals between SSPs, other STPs, and SCPs. An STP is a special application packet switch which operates to pass signaling information.
The components in the SS7 network are connected together by links. Links between SSPs and STPs can be, for example, A, B, C, D, E or F links. Typically, redundant links are also used for connecting an SSP to its adjacent STPs. Customer premises equipment (CPE), such as a telephone, are connected to an SSP or an end office (EO) switch.
To initiate a call in an SS7 telecommunications network, a calling party using a telephone connected to an originating EO switch, dials a telephone number of a called party. The telephone number is passed from the telephone to the SSP at the originating EO (referred to as the “ingress EO”) of the calling party's local exchange carrier (LEC). A LEC is commonly referred to as a local telephone company. First, the SSP will process triggers and internal route rules based on satisfaction of certain criteria. Second, the SSP will initiate further signaling messages to another EO or access tandem (AT), if necessary. The signaling information can be passed from the SSP to STPs, which route the signals between the ingress EO and the terminating end office, or egress EO. The egress EO has a port designated by the telephone number of the called party. The call is set up as a direct connection between the EOs through tandem switches if no direct trunking exists or if direct trunking is full. If the call is a long distance call, i.e., between a calling party and a called party located in different local access transport areas (LATAs), then the call is connected through an inter exchange carrier (IXC) switch of any of a number of long distance telephone companies. Such a long distance call is commonly referred to as an inter-LATA call. LECs and IXCs are collectively referred to as the previously mentioned public switched telephone network (PSTN).
Emergence of competitive LECs (CLECs) was facilitated by passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which authorized competition in the local phone service market. Traditional LECs or RBOCs are now also known as incumbent LECs (ILECs). Thus, CLECs compete with ILECs in providing local exchange services. This competition, however, has still not provided the bandwidth necessary to handle the large volume of voice and data communications. This is due to the limitations of circuit switching technology which limits the bandwidth of the equipment being used by the LECs, and to the high costs of adding additional equipment.
Since circuit switching dedicates a channel to a call for the duration of the call, a large amount of switching bandwidth is required to handle the high volume of voice calls. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the LECs must also handle data communications over the same equipment that handle voice communications.
If the PSTN were converted to a packet-switched network, many of the congestion and limited bandwidth problems would be solved. However, the LECs and IXCs have invested large amounts of capital in building, upgrading and maintaining their circuit switched networks (known as “legacy” networks) and are unable or unwilling to jettison their legacy networks in favor of the newer, more powerful technology of packet switching. Accordingly, a party wanting to build a packet-switched network to provide voice and data communications for customers must build a network that, not only provides the desired functionality, but also is fully compatible with the SS7 and other, e.g., ISDN and MF, switching networks of the legacy systems.
Currently, internets, intranets, and similar public or private data networks that interconnect computers generally use packet switching technology. Packet switching provides for more efficient use of a communication channel as compared to circuit switching. With packet switching, many different calls (e.g., voice, data, video, fax, Internet, etc.) can share a communication channel rather than the channel being dedicated to a single call. For example, during a voice call, digitized voice information might be transferred between the callers only 50% of the time, with the other 50% being silence. For a data call, information might be transferred between two computers 10% of the time. With a circuit switched connection, the voice call would tie-up a communications channel that may have 50% of its bandwidth being unused. Similarly, with the data call, 90% of the channel's bandwidth may go unused. In contrast, a packet-switched connection would permit the voice call, the data call and possibly other call information to all be sent over the same channel.
Packet switching breaks a media stream into pieces known as, for example, packets, cells or frames. Each packet is then encoded with address information for delivery to the proper destination and is sent through the network. The packets are received at the destination and the media stream is reassembled into its original form for delivery to the recipient. This process is made possible using an important family of communications protocols, commonly called the Internet Protocol (IP).
In a packet-switched network, there is no single, unbroken physical connection between sender and receiver. The packets from many different calls share network bandwidth with other transmissions. The packets are sent over many different routes at the same time toward the destination, and then are reassembled at the receiving end. The result is much more efficient use of a telecommunications network than could be achieved with circuit-switching.
Recognizing the inherent efficiency of packet-switched data networks such as the Internet, attention has focused on the transmission of voice information over packet-switched networks. However, such systems are not compatible with the legacy PSTN and therefore are not convenient to use.
One approach that implements voice communications over an IP network requires that a person dial a special access number to access an IP network. Once the IP network is accessed, the destination or called number can be dialed. This type of call is known as a gateway-type access call.
Another approach involves a user having a telephone that is dedicated to an IP network. This approach is inflexible since calls can only be made over the IP network without direct access to the PSTN.
What is needed is a system and method for implementing packet-switched communications for both voice calls and data calls that do not require special access numbers or dedicated phones and permit full integration with the legacy PSTN.